Davis Cup: Four captains are heading for the title
The first semi-finals of the Davis Cup final tournament 2021 will take place in Madrid today. Serbia will meet Croatia (live stream at servustv.com from 4 p.m.), tomorrow Germany will play against Russia. In addition to the players, the captains are also in the spotlight.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Dec 03, 2021, 08:04 am
If you were to conduct a survey in the pedestrian zone in Moscow, Zagreb, Belgrade and Berlin, who the national football coach of the respective country is, you would get a very satisfactory result. However, if you ask about the Davis Cup captain, who holds the same office as Dragan Stojkovic in Serbia, Zlatko Dalic in Croatia, Valery Karpin in Russia and Hansi Flick at the German Football Association, the answers are rather thin.
So who are the four men who want to lead their teams to victory in the Davis Cup finals in Madrid this weekend? A brief overview ..
The team player - Michael Kohlmann
The German Davis Cup boss is currently experiencing one sporting highlight after another: a few weeks ago, his favorite Major League Baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, won the World Series for the first time since 1995. Borussia Dortmund is playing a strong Bundesliga season and could crown tomorrow's Saturday for Kohlmann (and Jan-Lennard Struff) with a win against FC Bayern. And in terms of core competencies, things are also looking very good: after victories against Serbia, Austria and Great Britain, Germany is among the top four nations in the Davis Cup 2021.
Kohlmann's contribution can hardly be overestimated: The mood in other teams may be good, but it is splendid among the Germans. Kohlmann has known his players for many years, for example he called Tim Pütz into the team long before he shot into the top 20 in the double world rankings. Kohlmann never puts himself in the foreground and yet always in front of his team. He made his Davis Cup debut in the quarter-finals in Australia in 2000, when Lleyton Hewitt was in a rather too good mood for him.
Michael Kohlmann's core competency was doubles, also at the side of Alexander Waske, with whom he played his last pair race in the national jersey against Belgium in 2007. Kohlmann is also a real tennis teacher who can help his players during matches. Which can be important against a rather burned-out Andrey Rublev.
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The ex-champion - Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki shows two faces in the days of Innsbruck and Madrid: When his number one, Novak Djokovic, is on the court, the Serbian captain can sit back and relax, watch the grandmaster at work and mentally book the safe country point . The second individual players drove Troicki to the verge of a nervous breakdown: Only Dusan Lajovic was able to score a point with a bang, Filip Krajinovic against Germany and especially Miomir Kecmanovic against Kazakhstan ultimately had to congratulate their respective opponents on their victory.
Troicki looked somewhat annoyed. But of course he knows that nerves can flutter particularly in the Davis Cup. In 2019 Troicki himself was still active, had won against the Russians several times alongside Novak Djokovic - and missed his chances in about the same way as Kecmanovic his against Mikhail Kukushkin.
But: Viktor Troicki made himself immortal in tennis circles in Serbia. In 2010 he lost the doubles against France with Nenad Zimjonic in the final in Belgrade, but in the fifth and decisive match against Michael Llodra he won the title for his nation. He wants to do this as captain on Sunday.
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The multi-functionary and flail - Shamil Tarpischev
Often there is talk of men or women who have already seen everything in tennis. When it comes to Davis Cup (and Fed Cup too), Shamil Tarpischev could be mentioned at the forefront in this regard. Tarpischev won the Davis Cup with the Russian men in 2002 and 2006, the women brought the team crown home to Russia as captain in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Perhaps that is why Tarpischev exudes a certain beer calm, while Andrey Rublev struggles with himself and the world, an electronic gang shoots broken for a moment, like in the match against Elias Ymer. Tarpischev, now 73 years old and, in addition to other activities and offices, also a member of the International Olympic Committee, bears something like this with composure. And celebrates points like victories rather sparsely. The Russian captain never played for his country himself.
For this, he dealt racist and sexist outcomes in a TV talk show against the Williams sisters in 2014, which earned him a one-year ban from the WTA.
The national coach - Vedran Martic
In the course of its young history, Croatia has produced two Grand Slam champions in men's singles: Goran Ivanisevic, who won the legendary final against Patrick Rafter at Wimbledon in 2001, and Marin Cilic, who won the title at the US Open in 2014. Vedran Martic coached both players. However, not at the time of their greatest successes: he worked for Ivanisevic before the Wimbledon triumph, and for Cilic only recently.
Martic would like to be able to rely on Marin Cilic again these days, alone, the veteran has not yet shown himself at his best. Martic, who himself never played in the Davis Cup for Croatia, spoke so hard to Borna Gojo that he was able to defeat Lorenzo Sonego in the quarter-finals. And with the Croatians there is almost even more to the rule than in the German team: If the score is 1-1 after the individual, you can start planning to win. Because with Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic the best double of 2021 is ready.